Healthcare Provider’s Knowledge about Childhood Autism at Baghdad Medical City

پوختە

The diagnosis and treatment of Autism in Iraq occurs in multiple settings and is provided by variety of health professionals.  Knowledge about Autism is low among healthcare providers and the presence of inaccurate and outdated beliefs regarding this disorder may late the detection and timely referral for interventions. A Descriptive analytical study was carried out from March 1, 2014 to May 24, 2014 in order to assess the Knowledge of Healthcare Providers about Childhood Autism and to determine the levels of knowledge among them. A purposive (non-probability) sample of one hundred healthcare providers (50 physician and 50 nurses). Data was collected through the use of Knowledge about childhood autism (KCA) questionnaire that completed and collected immediately from the respondents upon administration to achieve the objectives of the study, the questionnaire consisted of two parts; the first part is concerned with the demographic characteristics of the healthcare providers and; the second part consists of eighteen items described the Knowledge about childhood Autism among healthcare providers.  The validity of the questionnaire was obtained through a panel of experts and the reliability was achieved through the application of alpha Correlation coefficient (r=0.97) which was statistically acceptable. Data was analyzed through the application of the descriptive statistical analysis (frequency, percentage, mean, and mean of score). The results of this study indicate that the total mean of score among Physicians on Knowledge Questionnaire was (9.80) and the total mean of score among Nurses on Knowledge Questionnaire was (5.52) out of 18 possible. In conclusion the mean of scores reflect Physicians were equipped with relatively more knowledge about childhood autism than Nurses.